John Lewis has opened a Â£35 million department store at the new Grand Central retail development in Birmingham.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE

John Lewis opens new Grand Central store

24 September 2015 | by The Retail Bulletin

John Lewis has opened a Â£35 million department store at the new Grand Central retail development in Birmingham.

Spanning 250,000 square feet, the store is the retailer’s largest shop to open in four years and one of the biggest John Lewis department stores in the UK.

The store has been chosen to debut several new services and concepts, including fashion and lifestyle concept loved&found, and the first John Lewis-branded spa, &Beauty.

Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said: "Today sends a clear message that John Lewis is firmly committed to the British High Street and that physical shops remain as important to us as they do to our customers.

"Birmingham is a city which we have wanted to be a part of for many years and the New Street Station and Grand Central development offered us the perfect opportunity to make this a reality.

"Our new Birmingham regional flagship shop is a bold expression of the very best of John Lewis in 2015 and it is particularly exciting that customers will be able to step directly from New Street Station, into four floors of inspiring fashion, home and technology."

The shop has created 650 new jobs across Birmingham and the retailer has revealed that it received over 10,000 applications for the roles.

Lisa Williams, head of branch at John Lewis Birmingham, said: "Our recruitment process has been incredibly successful, with unprecedented demand – at one point we were receiving one application every minute. We have built a great team, with our 650 Partners coming from right across the region."

Digitally native competitors and demanding customers are forcing a new perspective in retail. AI and machine learning can help you step up to the challenges; and some â€˜small and beautifulâ€™ solutions can increase your conversion rates within just a few weeks.